Purgin II, a resin glycoside ester-type dimer and inhibitor of multidrug efflux pumps from Ipomoea purga.

Reinvestigation of the CHCl(3)-soluble extract from aerial parts of Ipomoea purga was carried out to identify mammalian multidrug-resistance inhibitors. Preparative-scale recycling HPLC was used to purify four new resin glycosides, purgins II (1) and III (2) in addition to purginosides III (3) and IV (4), as well as the known purginosides I (5) and II (6) and purgin I (7). The structures of 1-4 were established through NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. Purgins II (1) and III (2) are the first examples of ester-type dimers of operculinic acid B with three different acylating residues in both monomeric units: (2S)-methylbutyric acid, n-hexanoic, n-decanoic, and trans-cinnamic acids. The macrolactonization site was located at C-2 of the second saccharide unit. The position of the ester linkage for monomeric unit B on the macrocyclic unit A was established as C-4 of the terminal glucose. Purginosides III (3) and IV (4) were found to be pentasaccharides of operculinic acid A with a structure related to that previously described for compounds 5 and 6. Reversal of multidrug resistance by compounds 1-7 was evaluated in vinblastine-resistant human breast carcinoma cells (MCF-7/Vin). Purgin II (1) enhanced vinblastine activity >2140-fold when incorporated at 25 μg/mL. For compounds 2-7, a moderate vinblastine-enhancing activity from 1.4-fold to 6.5-fold was observed.